Massage-machine.



No. 754,463. PATENTED MAR. 15, 1904.

- YP.J.KROLL.

MASSAGE MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2, 1903.

no MODEL. 2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

i INVENTOR BY %W TTORNEY N0 MODEL.

- PATBNTEDEMAR. 15, 1904. v

P. J. KROLL.

MASSAGEIMACHINE.

APPLICATION rum) NOV. 2, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR UNITED STATES PatentedMarch 15, 1904.-

' PH L IP J. KROLL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

*MAssAeE-M c -uNE.

' sPEcIFIcA'rIoNrorinin part of Letters Patent No. 754,463, dated. March15, 1904. Applicatihn filed ilovember 2,1903. stamina-179,552. (NomodeL) Q ivhom it mag concern: I B e'it-known that LPI'iILIPJ. KROLL, ofthe The principle of l invention is to .con-

struct a machine which will imitate the movements of the hands ofan'operator in performing the operation upon the human body known asmassage. Tothis end the operator with the thumb and fingers of one handgrasps the flesh of the patient and by. bringing the thumb and fingerstogether forms a'ridge, and while this ridgeis compressedhe brings theends of the fingers of the other, hand down upon-it and aftersubjecting. the flesh in ridge form to a certain amount of pressurerelaxes the hold of the grasping thumb and fingers while pushingdownward the fingers of the other hand,

so as to producean indentation in the flesh. This is repeated veryquickly, the hands being moved from place to place over the body. Themuscular exertion on the part of the operator is considerable, and evena skilled manipulator cannot keep up such work'for more than a fewminutes at a time, '1

By my present machine, as'I have stated, the operations above describedare imitated and produce the same result upon the patient, whilethey can'be continued for an indefinite period, since the person controlling themachine has nothing to do but grasp it in his hand or hands. and move itto wherever upon the body he desires its operation to take effect.

My invention consists in the organization and construction of the.machine, as hereinafter more particularly, pointed out, whichconstruction involves means for grasping the flesh, means forcompressing the flesh between grasping-jaws and subsequently forapplying pressure to the part under treatment after the jaws have beenrelaxed. v

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a cross-section of my improvedmassage-machine on the line 11 of Fig. 3, taken in the direction of thearrow a. Fig. 2 is a bottom view. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 ofFig. 1. Fig. 4: is a detail view of the crankarm which operates thepusher. Fig. 5 is a maybe cast integral with the shell.

section on the line {i 4.-of Fig. 4. Figs. 6, 7, and 8 illustratedifferent positions of the working parts during the operation of themachine and also the mode of controlling it by one hand. 7 In Fig. 9 themachine is shown held in both hands. 1 i

Similar characters of reference indicate like parts.

5 is the outer casing or shell, which is made,

preferably, of metal, roundedat its ends and open at its lower side.Around its upper edge it is provided with a bead 6, so as to enable itto be grasped conveniently by the hand, as shown in Fig. 6, or by bothhands, asshown in Fig. 9. In the shell 5 are threaded openings toreceive the bushings 7 for the shafts 8 and 9. The said shafts arecoaxial, and each is provided with a crank-arm 10. The said crank-arms10 have projections 11 on their outer sides, which come together to forma crank-pin. Connected to the crank-pin is a pitman 12, which at itsopposite end 1a is pivoted to the pusher 15. The pusher is instirsqueezing-jaws 22 and 23, said jaws being bolted to the arc-shapedouter peripheries of the carriers, as shown. The carriers and 21 arepivoted upon transverse shafts 24: 25,

the ends of which are seated in bosses 27 ,-which Fast on the shaft 9are two reversely-placed eccentrics 28 and 29, and fast on the shaft 8are similarly-placed eccentrics 30 and 31. The eccentrics 28 and 30enter circular apertures in links .32 and 33, and these links arepivoted at their extremities between jaws 34 on the upper side of thecarrier. 21. In like manner links 35 and 36 receive'the eccentrics 29and 31, and the ends of these links are pivoted between jaws 37 on theupper side of the carrier 20. By reason of this construction when by anysuitable means the shaft 8 or the shaft 9 is rotated the pusher 15 andthe squeezing-jaws 22 and 23 are operatedthat is to say, the jaws 22 and23 are caused to oscillate on their pivot-shafts ,rup form, and itsvertical sides play between IOO 24 and 25 and the pusher 15 is caused tomove up and down. The setting of the eccentrics which actuate thesqueezing-jaws 22 and 23 and of the crank which actuatesthe pusher 15 issuch as to produce the desired relative operation of the jaws andpusher, which will now be described. I

In practice the end of the shaft 9 protrudes,

as shown at 38, and to this protruding end may be connected any suitableform of flexible' shaft 39 for conveying a motion of rotation to saidshaft 9, and thus to operate the other parts of the machine. Theoperator grasps the shell 5 in one hand, as shown in Fig. 6, or in bothhands, as shown in Fig. 9.

The squeezing-jaws in the beginning are retracted to their utmost, sothat the maximum space is left between their inner edges 40 4:1.

The pusher 15 is also raised to its maximum extent, and it will benoticed that the rounded lower edge of the pusher is located midwaybetween the rounded edges of the, jaws 4:0 and 41. The edges of the jaws40 and 41 then rest against the flesh of the patient, which is indicatedby the dotted lines 6 '6. The oper ation of the machine is then asfollows: The

edges 40 and 41 of the jaws come together and. squeeze the flesh into anupwardly-protruding ridge 0. At the same time the pusher 15 descends.When the jaws 40 and 41 have reached their most nearly approximatingposition, thus squeezing the flesh totheir utmost,

the pusher having descended also presses upon the ridge of flesh soformed. In other words,

the ridge of flesh is now squeezed between the three edges of the pusherand the two jaws.

The jaws are then retracted; but the pusher continues to descend,forcing the flesh downwardly and making an indentation, as shown at d inFig. 8. The parts then resume the position shown in Fig. 6 and themachine is moved to a new place on the body of the patient and theoperation repeated.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the operation of the machineclosely imitates that of the hand of the massage operator. The flesh issqueezed by the edges 40 41 of the jaws, just as it ordinarily isbetween the thumb and fingers of one hand of the operator, and thepusher 15 presses the ridge onmov ing downward just as the ends of thefingers of the other hand of the operator compress the ridge formed inthe manner already vdescribed- Of course by regulating the speed of theoperation the number of squeezes and compressions per given time can bemade as slow or as'fast as may-be desired.

Iclaim- 1 i 1. In a massage-machine, three flesh-compressing members andmechanism for intermittently moving said members to approach oneanother, two of said members being constructed and arranged to compressthe flesh between them and the third member to act upon said compressedflesh in adirection normal'to the body of the patient.

2. In a'massage-machine, three flesh-compressing members, mechanism forintermittently moving two of said members to approach one another, andmechanism for intermittently moving said third member into the spacebetween said first two members and in a direction normal to the body ofthe patient.

3. In a massage-machine, two flesh-compressing members, mechanism formoving said members toward and from one another, and a reciprocatingpushing member constructed and arranged to compress the flesh grasped bysaid first-named members'in a dii'ection normal to the bodyof thepatient; all of said members having narrow elongated rounded facesacting upon said flesh.

4. In amassage-machine, an inclosing shell, two swinging jaws pivotedtherein, a rotary shaft and mechanism actuated by said. shaftforactuating said jaws intermittently to approach one another.

5. In amassage-machine, an inclosing shell, two swinging jaws pivotedtherein, a rotary shaft and eccentrics on said shaft actuating said jawsintermittently to approach one anot er.

-6. Ina massage-machine, an inclosing shell,

a rotary shaft therein, a sliding pusher, and mechanism actuated by saidshaft for causing said pusher intermittently to protrude from saidshell. f

7. In a massage-machine, an inclosing shell, a rotary shaft, twoswinging jaws pivoted therein, a pusher constructed intermittently tomove into the space between said jaws and mechanism actuated bysaid'shaft for reciprocating said pusher and for causing said jawsintermittently to approach'one another.

8. In combination with an'inclosing shell and a rotary shaft therein,acrank on said shaft, a reciprocating pusher, a pitmanconnecting-saidcrank and pusher, reversely-set eccentrics on said shaft, two swingingjaws pivoted in said shell, and'links respectively connecting said jawsto said eccentrics. T

In testimony whereof I have signed myname PHILIP J. KROLL."

Witnesses:

WM. H. SIEGMAN, I. A. VAN W'ART.

